Init Commands

sftpwarden init

Creates a SFTPWarden project and registers it in the local context registry. It can create local Compose projects, remote local-sync projects, remote-only context entries, Kubernetes manifest projects, and Helm projects.

For new projects, init writes sftpwarden.yaml, creates empty provider storage, writes deployment files when the target is Compose, and selects the new context as the active context.

sftpwarden init dev --yes
sftpwarden init demo --user-schema 1 --yes
sftpwarden init prod --provider postgresql --dsn '${SFTPWARDEN_POSTGRES_DSN}' --create-table
sftpwarden init prod --remote [email protected]:/opt/sftpwarden --critical
sftpwarden init archive --remote [email protected]:/opt/sftpwarden --remote-only --critical
sftpwarden init prod --deploy kube --namespace sftpwarden --yes
sftpwarden init prod --deploy helm --namespace sftpwarden --yes

Arguments

Argument	Required	Value	What it means
context_name	No	TEXT	Context/project name to create. If omitted, interactive mode asks for it. The positional value remote is accepted for remote init compatibility.

Options

Flag	Value	Default	What it does
--context, -c	TEXT	none	Context name used by remote init compatibility mode. For normal init, prefer the positional context_name.
--provider	yaml, csv, sqlite, mysql, mariadb, postgresql, mongodb	global default, then yaml	Selects the user provider type stored in sftpwarden.yaml.
--root	PATH	current directory	Local project root to initialize or register.
--remote	REMOTE	none	Creates a remote context from user@host:/path. Mutually exclusive with --remote-url.
--remote-url	REMOTE	none	Compatibility alias for a remote URL. Mutually exclusive with --remote.
--dsn	DSN	none	Database URL for SQL and MongoDB providers. Required with --yes for external database providers.
--query	TEXT	provider default	Custom SQL read query for SQL providers. Use only when the table shape is managed outside SFTPWarden.
--table	TEXT	sftp_users	SQL users table name for MySQL, MariaDB, PostgreSQL, and SQLite.
--collection	TEXT	sftp_users	MongoDB collection name.
--user-schema	1 or 2	2	Provider user schema to initialize. v1 is the simple public_keys format. v2 is the named-key format and the default for new projects.
--deploy, -d	compose, kube, helm	compose	Deployment target stored in sftpwarden.yaml. kube means Kubernetes manifests. helm means Helm mode.
--namespace	TEXT	sftpwarden for Kubernetes targets	Kubernetes namespace for --deploy kube or --deploy helm. Invalid for Compose projects.
--create-namespace / --no-create-namespace	flag pair	prompt, or create with --yes	Controls whether a missing Kubernetes namespace is created during init.
--create-table / --no-create-table	flag pair	prompt, or create with --yes	Controls whether missing SQL tables or MongoDB storage are created during init.
--host	TEXT	prompt in remote mode	Remote SSH host used when no compact remote URL is supplied.
--user	TEXT	local SSH default	Remote SSH username used when building remote settings.
--port	INTEGER	global default, normally 22	Remote SSH port.
--remote-root	PATH	global default, normally ~/sftpwarden	Project root on the remote host.
--ssh-key	PATH	SSH default	Explicit SSH private key path for remote contexts and Docker watcher mode.
--watcher	auto, systemd, openrc, runit, supervisord, launchd, windows-task, docker	auto when needed	Watcher backend to install or reuse for remote local-sync contexts.
--remote-only	flag	false	Registers a context that exists only on the remote host. No local project files are created.
--skip-checks	flag	false	Skips remote and Kubernetes prerequisite checks. Use when preparing files before the target exists.
--critical	flag	false	Marks the context as critical so destructive or deployment commands ask for confirmation.
--yes, -y	flag	false	Accepts prompts and defaults. For production-like names without --critical, also accepts creating the context as non-critical.

Behavior By Target

Target	What init creates
Local Compose	Local project files, provider storage, docker-compose.yml, context registry entry, active context.
Remote local-sync	Local editable project, remote context metadata, optional watcher setup, active context.
Remote-only	Local registry entry only. SFTPWarden checks the remote host unless --skip-checks is used.
Kubernetes manifests	Local project plus Kubernetes deployment settings. The namespace is checked or created unless checks are skipped.
Helm	Local project plus Helm deployment settings. The namespace is checked or created unless checks are skipped.

Database Storage

For SQL and MongoDB providers, init checks whether the configured table or collection exists. If it is missing, interactive mode asks whether to create it. With --yes, SFTPWarden creates it unless --no-create-table is provided.

When --user-schema 2 is selected for SQL providers, storage creation includes the table needed for named keys.

When To Use It

Use init for new projects. Use sftpwarden context add only when a project already exists and this machine just needs to register it.